Tipsheet

Wisconsin's Secretary of State Has a Meltdown Over Hail in Her Front Yard

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  April 17, 2026 9:00 AM

Wisconsin, like other parts of the upper Midwest, was pounded by thunderstorms and tornadoes earlier this week, and there's a threat for more severe weather this afternoon. This is normal for April, when massive temperature swings create an unstable atmosphere. Streets in Milwaukee were flooded, and there were several tornadoes, including an EF3 in Juneau County and an EF2 in Waukesha County.

Sara Godlewski, Wisconsin's Democrat Secretary of State, blamed the bad weather on climate change.

"Republicans say we don't have climate change," Godlewski screams, "but this is golf ball-sized hail in my front yard. This is not normal, and we can't keep ignoring our environment.

Godlewski should study up on Wisconsin's history. Because it's happened.

In 1921, hail measuring 5.7 inches in diameter was recorded near Wausau, Wisconsin, in the north-central part of the state. That's roughly the size of a DVD.

On July 15, 1980, a derecho system blew across western Wisconsin with large hail and destructive winds. That storm caused $240 million in damage.

St. Croix County, on the border near Minneapolis, had 4.5-inch hail in June 1988, and that was part of a large cluster of hailstorms. The same happened in 1997 in Lincoln County, in the north-east part of the state, and in 2000 in Monroe County in the southwest part of the state.

And in April 2006, a line of storms from Madison to Milwaukee produced tennis ball to baseball-sized hail.

So this is normal.

We can't blame SUVs for this.

Apparently not.

The yelling hysterically really sells it.

Excellent question.

This isn't climate change. This is normal Wisconsin weather.